Michael Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine” took home the Oscar for best documentary. If Moore’s inane comments during his acceptance speech didn’t rile me enough, this article, sends me over the edge. The article’s author, David T. Hardy, makes no bones about his thesis: “‘Bowling’ uses deliberate deception as its primary tool of persuasion and effect.”

Hardy’s article is painstakingly well-cited, giving the reader every opportunity to double check his sources. In the piece, Hardy demonstrates that Moore uses fraudulent tactics and blatant lies in order to advance the gist of his movie. No words can sugar-coat Moore’s transgressions: The man is a liar. Hardy’s article is excellent in its well-cited destruction of “Bowling for Columbine.”

Hardy now has an entire site devoted to Mr. Moore. See it here. There are many other sites seeking to expose Moore: Moorewatch.com, Moorelies.com, and Micaelmoorehatesamerica.com is a site promoting the production of a documentary of the same name meant to expose Moore. True, these are not unbiased sources. The criticism certainly comes from the right. However, it seems quite clear that Moore is willfully duplicitous in his strategies to defame the right. At some point we need to drop party politics and castigate immorality where it is due.

11 Responses to Michael Moore: How Does This Guy Get Any Respect?

Are you going to defend the NRA?
You don’t see it as a problem that some 20,000+ are killed each year because of guns in the U.S.
You don’t see the American government as just a little racist? – remember, it treats its own black people about as bad as it treats the brown people of the world (Afghanistan, Iraq, remember Vietnam!)

Moore makes some pretty obvious points, the fact that this has riled you is curious.

So what if Moore has lied, do you go to cinema to get your ‘facts’? I watched a funny film (it was funny, seeing the state our American brothers have got themselves in over guns) which rang true on certain issues. The facts themselves were besides the point, not in a ëpost-modernistí sense but because you canít really take issue with 20,000+ deaths from guns a year. Can you? You canít take issue with the fact that there is something pretty wrong with a teenager trying to take out his whole school, can you?

I am interested to know why Moore has irritated you. Are you a gun freak? maybe you’re a Republican?

Regards

P.S. just looked at the site. Very funny. It takes issue with Moore representing the NRA as cold and heatless, how could anyone think that?

“It’s not a case about respect SoB.”
It is about respect. Whatever Moore’s opinions are, whatever he is trying to say, he is purposefully misleading viewers to get his point across. If he can’t get his point across without lies one must wonder why he believes it in the first place. I don’t know if you read the article, I assume you didn’t. Furthermore, it seems that since you agree with Moore’s views – and hold a generally English view of the United States buttressed by a politically committed state-run media and a moribund intelligensia (not that ours is any better)- it is inconsequential that he lied, as long as he was getting the message across. This isn’t about the message, it is about the methods. As I stated, “At some point we need to drop party politics and castigate immorality where it is due.”

However, it is all expected from the morally anointed left. The differential rectitude of the left – their “specialness” that gives them the power to override millions of peoples’ preferences and thousand of years of traditions –
keeps them spotless of criticism. One of the results of this view of the world, and their place in it, is the judging of outcomes and the ignoring of processes. The “just” outcome that brings moral anointedness is already known. The processes, social institutions, economic interactions need to be brought into line with this outcome through whatever means necessary. Seeing this as the pattern of the left, it is no wonder that Moore was willing to manipulate the facts, and produce blatant lies, in order to produce a result.

“Are you going to defend the NRA?”
Yes. I don’t own a gun but I will defend the right to own a gun and to form groups built around the activity. It is difficult to ignore that a central feature of intellectuals deriding the NRA is the snobby, nose-looking elitism that intellectuals engage in so proliferously. Intellectuals build their self-images on being able to call the vast majority of people “philistines.” Nothing quite so engenders this knee-jerk value-judgment than the desire to shoot guns. Clearly you must be an uncivilized brute who doesn’t go to the theater and has never read Don DeLillo. True, the condemnation is also rooted in the belief in the danger of guns. However for elitists who watched “Bowling for Columbine” Moore provided a forum to make fun of the “savage brutes” that compose the NRA. Of course, Moore’s liberal editing made the NRA come off as ridiculous and Moore’s elitist image of them clear.

“You don’t see the American government as just a little racist? – remember, it treats its own black people about as bad as it treats the brown people of the world ”
No. I see the Civil Rights act of 1964 as one of the biggest causes of the “black situation” in this country. That act was rooted in a desire to eleminate institutional racism but, as is so often the case, produced many opposite effects and, by nearly every meaningful statistic, started a downward spiral that still goes on today. I, however, am making assertions here that I have little desire to defend (if you take this as a sign of my lack of support or my fear of you, so be it) against someone who engages in intellectual activity after taking a hearty drink from the post-modern truth-blender smoothie maker. You see the entire world as ensconced in inexorable power relationships and racism, sexisim, classism, ageism…blahblahblah…exist whether or not there is evidence for them. In fact, if there is NO evidence, it is a reason to believe MORE because the “dominating narrative” has succeed so completely in subverting the dissenting voice. This type of position is the fodder of conspiracy theorists and UFO-nuts. “There is no evidence for X because evidence for X has been hidden, surpressed or completely obfuscated somehow. Therefore the lack of evidence for X is evidence for X.” Because I cannot argue against this, the argument really exists behind the curtains, in the orchestra pit where we’ve been periodically duking it out for sometime now. Therefore, lets move on…

“So what if Moore has lied, do you go to cinema to get your ‘facts’?”
Do I need to tell you the difference between a documentary and a work of fiction? Of course, this debate is pointless with your post-modern truths smoothie sitting next to you. Perhaps you don’t believe there is a difference between fiction and non-fiction, or perhaps that difference is only in stated intent. Either way, I suppose in one sense you don’t think there is a difference….anyway, moving on…I’ll meet you in the orchestra pit later…

“because you canít really take issue with 20,000+ deaths from guns a year”
Another great debating tactic meant to dissolve discussion and produce foregone conclusions. Here’s a good stat. Canada, the foil of America in the film, has a much higher per capita murder rate than Germany. Let’s talk about that difference….But anyway, do I think the homicide rate in the US is a problem? Yes. Do I think Moore’s film dealt well with the problem?…not even a little bit. The movie wasn’t a search for a conclusion, it was a conclusion already known with a movie made around it.

“I am interested to know why Moore has irritated you. Are you a gun freak? maybe you’re a Republican?”
Wow. Moore’s duplicity can only irratate me if I am a gun freak or *gasp* a Republican? Here is a great dichotomy to choose from. Either I am a gun freak who is a screwed up, bible-thumping ignorant rube who doesn’t enjoy Dadaist theater or Marcel Duchamp, or I am a Republican, who are just screwed up heartless, bible-thumping, haters of the poor, the blacks, the women, the elderly, the hispanics…..blahblahblah. Wow Sarah, you leave me with a difficult choice. However, it seems that heads you win tails I lose, huh? Well, I like guns…I think they’re pretty sweet although I don’t own one. Hardly a gun freak. Also, I am a Libertarian…that votes *gasp* Republican because I believe in American politics you should vote party over person. The Republican party, with numerous stands with which I disagree, is the FAR lesser of two evils – two major parties that do not coincide with my somewhat idiosyncratic political views. Likewise, the Libertarian party is equally misaligned with my views. However, I says much that I, a committed atheist, will vote for Republican candidates over Democrats. To assert it simply, they promote a FAR less dangerous vision of America – and the world in general.

This, however, is another argument. The issue here is why I must be maligned in order to take issue with Moore’s clearly underhanded tactics (again, if you haven’t read the article I urge you to). Your dichotomy was yet another way to skirt the matter of debate. You hold out two poisonous offerings; “gun freak” and “Republican” and ask for a choice. How about I point out that both the choices are poisoned and we can talk about why you want to kill me?

So there we go Sarah, why do you want to kill me?

P.S.
“what was inane about his “speech”? – seemed more like a few words to me, anyway.”
Ummmm…definition clarification: Inane: Without contents; empty; void of sense or intelligence; purposeless; pointless; characterless; useless.
I think that my previous comments demonstrate why I feel they are inane.

“You think Dubwa got into power fair and square? you think going to Iraq was fair and square?”
Again, large issues…not to be debated here and until all our cards on the table and you stop trying to poison me.

“Are you a Dubwa fan?”
Ummmm…difficult to answer the question. I have MANY criticisms of G.W. Bush. However, I am a Bush defender also. This is mainly due to the fact that the criticisms of Bush that proliferate coffee shops, intelligensia circles and much of the media (particularly the BBC) are some of the most vacuous inane tripe I have ever heard. Criticism of Bush has become predominently couched in the repitition of intellectual one-liners, dull Bill Maher-style “witticisms,” and the stern stating of rhetorical questions (i.e. “You think Dubwa got into power fair and square?”) which are not questions but inarguable statements. (Imagine the difference between a child coming up to you and asking, wide-eyed “Do you thing Bush got in to power fairly?” and a Sarah or a Sarahite asking you the same thing.) I believe trenchant criticisms can be leveled against Bush, but I do not hear them often from the left (occasionally). More than anything, I am the enemy of intellectual parrots and self-esteeming contrarians who demean Mr. Bush because it is fadish.

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Cialis is in a class of medications known as PDE-5 inhibitors, which are used to treat cases of male impotence. Remember Cialis is approved in authorized markets for the treatment of mild to severe Erectile Dysfunction at both 10 and 20 mg Cialis doses. Cialis should be taken prior to anticipated sexual activity and without regard to food. Just like Viagra, sexual stimulation is needed for Cialis to work.

yo – this is for trevor, im a young buck from canada and i’d just like to add a few comments:firstly i see you use alot of big words that some of us would have to get a dictionary to even understand; and secondly i think your a brainwashed moron who is so wrapped up with pride in his own country its ridiculous. Sure you can say that you support geroge bush for your various reasons, but from what ive seen on t.v (thats not where i get all my info from) the american stations make it seem like your country is still as gun happy as the old wild west, just with more technology. Plus theres only two major political parties which is very retarded-you have to have alot of money to run, if you dont have enough money you have to get some big coorperations to pay for your campaign(which wants some political helps outs on the way) and even you dont need it the polititions greed outlaws their own consciense(which is american nature(money money money)). I think moore has more smarts and insight than youll ever have in your life. More murders per captia in germany? Belive it or not but germany isnt ran by Nazis anymore my friend, maybe you have some good writing skill and some undying patriotism, but you dont really have a mind of your own.
The USA is totally corrupted and IT is going in a downward spiral.